John R. Saunders, Jr., M.D.

John R. Saunders, Jr., M.D was appointed to the position of chief medical officer as part of the GBMC HealthCare executive management team in August 2010.

Dr. Saunders also serves as medical director of The Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head & Neck Center and as a surgeon with the hospital's head and neck practice, Johns Hopkins Head and Neck Surgery at GBMC. Formerly GBMC's chief of staff from October 2004 through February 2010, Dr. Saunders also served as the hospital's interim chief executive officer from February 2010 until mid-June 2010. He has been affiliated with GBMC since coming to the hospital as a fellow in 1979.

In his role as chief medical officer, Dr. Saunders has oversight of clinical effectiveness, patient safety, quality improvement, physician relations, and graduate and continuing medical education.

Board certified in surgery from the American Board of Surgery and a fellow with the American College of Surgeons. He is a past president of both The Society of Head and Neck Surgeons and the Baltimore Academy of Surgery.

A member of the hospital's board of directors and several hospital committees, Dr. Saunders also holds an M.B.A. from Loyola College. Dr. Saunders holds academic appointments from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Maryland, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Following medical school at Georgetown University, Dr. Saunders served an internal medicine internship and surgical residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, followed by a three-year assignment in Germany. Dr. Saunders returned to Walter Reed for a head and neck fellowship.

Dr. Saunders served with the U.S. Army Medical Corps on active duty from 1971 to 1982, and on reserve duty from 1982 to 1994. He served as chief, general surgery service at the U.S. Army Hospital in Augsburg, Germany from 1976 to 1979; as staff surgeon, general surgery service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 1980-1981 and as assistant chief, general surgery service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 1981 to 1982. He retired from the United States Army Reserve with the rank of colonel and is the recipient of numerous military awards and commendations.